


What a Perfect Mess We've Made

by Normal_Norman



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Daryl and Paul are grossly adorable, Daryl cries, Daryl doesn't call Paul Jesus ever, Daryl has a lot of emotions okay?, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Paul likes to paint, Swearing, That's the main one, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, emotional daryl, so much love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-10-17 02:45:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10584795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Normal_Norman/pseuds/Normal_Norman
Summary: Daryl and Jesus find some paint while on a run. Rick decides Daryl and Paul need a house of their own in Alexandria now that they're in a relationship. Daryl and Paul decide that their new bedroom needs to be painted a different color. Painting the bedroom doesn't go as planned.





	

Daryl walked down the main road of the town they were in with his head down while Paul rambled on about what they were going to do with the half a dozen gallons of paint they found. And goddamn, they were getting fucking heavy. He didn't even know that the paint would still be good at this point but Paul insisted they lasted 10 years unopened. Paul also said he absolutely had to have them for his art and anything else they could find to use it for.

“We could paint the rooms in one of the empty houses in Alexandria. Do you think we could get Rick to let us do that?” Paul asked as he readjusted the paint cans he was carrying. He had a red, green, and blue while Daryl had a purple, yellow, and pink.

“Dunno, maybe,” Daryl said with a slight shrug. He picked up his pace because his arms were burning and his fingers were going numb. They’d been walking for over 20 minutes and if he wanted a goddamn workout, he would’ve bench pressed Judith or something. He was ready to get back to the car and go home. He was sore, tired, and tired of sweating in the blazing sun.

In Georgia, the heat is constant; it’s hot during every season, but here in Virginia, the heat fluctuated. As in, yesterday it was a breezy 75° with some cloud cover. Today though, it was a stagnant 87° with no clouds and a shitton of humidity. He took one step outside today and he immediately started sweating. The air was sticky and so was he.  
  
“Daryl? Did you hear me?” He snapped back to reality with a jerk of his head and looked over at the other man. Paul had stopped walking and was looking at him with a look of concern. He grunted in response and kept moving. He was tired of stopping. He was done with this day and ready for it to be over.

“Anyway, I said, we could paint Judith’s room to look like a sunset if you want. Or maybe a night sky. We can talk to Rick about it first,” Paul explained quickly as he picked up his pace to match Daryl’s own. Daryl looked over at the younger man and nodded. Daryl had never got to paint a room before; every house they lived in was rented or too shitty to worry about painting. His father would’ve given him hell if he said he wanted to paint something. In his father’s eyes, painting wasn’t manly and Daryl had to be manly.  
  
“I know how much you like to have your space, but I was thinking that maybe we could claim one of the houses there for when we visit for longer than a few hours. You know, just a place to get away from everyone and have some privacy,” Paul said with a wiggle of his eyebrows as he bumped Daryl with his shoulder. Daryl huffed a laugh and actually smiled for the first time in the last half an hour.  
  
Daryl thought back to the first time Jesus told him how he felt and kissed him. Daryl remembers awkwardly backing away and stumbling over the steps of Paul’s trailer which resulted in him landing on his ass in the dirt. Paul just laughed and helped him up. Now here they are, two months later and in an established relationship. It took Daryl three weeks to kiss Paul back and not shy away from him. Paul never gave up though, which Daryl was ultimately thankful for; at first, he was annoyed that Paul wouldn’t just leave him alone and annoyed that he actually wanted something with Paul. Daryl can say now that he’s actually happy for Paul’s persistence.  
  
“Never got to paint my own room,” Daryl said as the car finally came into view. He hears Paul let out a sigh of relief as he does the same. Thank god; his arms are about jelly. They both picked up their pace even more and they were practically jogging to the car. Daryl set one of the paint cans down and popped the trunk of the car. Paul set all three of his in the trunk and picked up the one Daryl set down as Daryl put the other two in the trunk. They made a good team and everyone could see it. It’s like they could communicate without talking or even looking at each other; like Rick and Michonne.  
  
“You know, it’s a shame you’ve never got the chance to paint anything. Before the world went to shit, I used to paint all the time. I actually got really good at it; I even had a piece of work in a gallery. I wish you could’ve seen it; I think you would’ve loved it,” Paul said as they got in the car and buckled up. Paul still insisted on them being safe even though there were walkers around every turn. Daryl looked at the other man and smiled.  
  
“Maybe you can paint somethin’ now,” Daryl said before putting the car in reverse and turning onto the main road home. He glanced over as Paul took his hand and tangled their fingers together. Before Paul, Daryl hated the mushy, gushy aspects of everyone else’s relationships but now he can see why they do it. It’s a pleasant feeling to have in this shitty, dreary world.  
  
“While I’m putting my artistic abilities to good use, you could be putting those arms to good use by painting our soon-to-be bedroom. It could quite possibly give me some inspiration; seeing those muscles ripple with every stroke of the brush,” Paul said with a mischievous grin. Daryl could feel the heat rising up his neck and onto his face. As much as he liked Paul, he really was a little shit. Paul let out a laugh as he saw Daryl’s face get redder with every second.  
  
“Shut up, you little shit. I’ll get you back,” Daryl said with a growl. He heard Paul’s breath hitch which made him smile. Daryl knew that Paul loved when he growled; he also knew that it made Paul breathless. If anyone saw them like this, they’d be the butt of all the jokes from here to the end of the apocalypse.

Daryl and Paul burst into laughter after a few seconds of silence. It was nice to be around someone that could make him laugh during times like these. Paul did it almost effortlessly, and he did the same for Paul when he could. It was nice to have Paul around.

They finally got back to Alexandria and drove to one of the empty houses. Much to their surprise, Rick was already there with some others from the community. They were bustling in and out when Tara noticed them pull up. Daryl saw her yell something to those inside and saw Rick poke his head out the front door. He motioned for Tara to get inside then shut the door behind her.

Daryl glanced at Paul and shrugged when he raised his eyebrows. They finally unbuckled and got out of the car. They walked up the steps and onto the front porch. Daryl put his hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath as he looked over at Paul. Paul grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together then nodded. Daryl turned the knob and pushed the door open.

“SURPRISE!” The 5 people inside yelled with a delayed "PRISE" from Judith as balloons fell from above them. Daryl jerked on instinct and Paul laughed. Daryl looked down at the floor with a blush across his face and kicked at one of the balloons that fell near his foot. He saw that it had a word on it so he released Paul’s hand and bent down to pick it up. All it said was _‘ **We’** _ in black marker.

“There’s more,” Tara said as she bent down to pick up a balloon near her own foot and passed it to him. He handed the balloon in his hand to Paul and took the one from Tara’s hands. This one said _‘ **Love’** _ . Then Rick handed him one as he passed the second one to Paul. It said **_‘You’_ ** . Carl passed him one that said **_‘Guys.’_ **  Judith stumbled over with one and said, “Dar,” as she handed it to him. It said **_‘Welcome’_ ** . Carol threw the one she picked up to him and smiled as he read the **_‘Home’_ ** in bold black letters. Michonne dropped one last balloon from above them so that it was falling between him and Paul. He and Paul both grabbed it out of the air at the same time and saw a black heart on it with the initials DD and PR inside of it. They looked at each other with a smile and looked over at Rick.

“We love you guys and figured that you could use a place of your own when you visited so that you could have some privacy now that y'all are finally an item. Welcome home,” Rick said with a big smile and tossed them the keys to their new home away from home. Daryl and Paul caught them at the same time and everyone laughed.

“You guys are disgusting, even more so than Rick and I,” Michonne said with a smile as she came down the stairs next to them. Daryl gave her a hug when she reached the bottom. He released her and rushed over to Rick. He pulled him into a hug and whispered a thank you into Rick’s ear. He felt Rick nod against his cheek and pull back.

“You guys deserve it. With as much as you guys do for our communities, you deserve to have something you can call your own. A place you can go without being bothered, a place you can relax, a place to call home. A place to feel safe,” Rick said as Judith tugged at his pant leg. Daryl watched as Rick picked her up and kissed her cheek. He turned to see Carol, Carl, Tara, Michonne, and Paul walk over to them. He’s never felt more loved in his life than he did in this moment. Paul hugged Daryl which caused everyone to hug the both of them at once. It was one big group hug full of love. Daryl started to cry so he buried his face in Paul’s shoulder. He felt Paul place his hand on his head and soon he felt 5 other hands on his head, too. That caused the gentle crying to turn into full blown sobs. How did he get so fucking lucky?

After a few minutes of letting his emotions out, he stood up straight and wiped his face with the rag in his back pocket. He finally looked around at the house and realized that it was full of furniture and on the coffee table were three framed pictures. He walked over to them and picked up the first one; it was one of him and Rick back at the prison when things were going well. He smiled at the picture then set it back down.

He picked up the second picture and saw that it was a picture of him, Carol, Carl, Judith, Tara, and Michonne. They were all laughing at Judith. He remembered it being the day that Judith took her first steps in the front yard of Rick’s house there in Alexandria. She had fallen on her butt a million times and every time she did, Rick was right there with worry written across his face. When she finally got the hang of it, the first person she walked to was Daryl. Soon after that, she started calling him Dar. He was her uncle Dar and he loved that little asskicker. He hadn’t realized that he was crying again until he saw a tear splatter on the glass of the frame.

He wiped it off and set it back down. He walked over to the third picture frame. It was larger than the other two and laying face down. He picked it up as Paul walked over to see what it was. He almost dropped it when he saw who was in the picture and what they were doing.

It was him and Paul. Daryl was sitting on top of a picnic table with his legs crossed, leaning forward to talk to Paul and Paul was sitting on the bench looking up at him, listening intently. Daryl remembered it as being the day Daryl finally kissed Paul back; right there after that picture was taken. His hands started shaking and he had to sit down on the couch behind him. Paul sat down beside him and took the photo from his hands. He looked over at Paul and saw the other man smile as he realized when the picture was taken.

“Where did these pictures come from?” Daryl asked with a shaky breath and leaned his head against the back of the couch with his eyes closed. He heard footsteps shuffling into the living room and the rustling of cushions as people sat down. He felt Paul grab his hand and give it a gentle squeeze. He opened his eyes and looked at the people around him.

“A long time ago, I found an old digital camera while I was out looking for supplies so I picked it up in hopes of getting some pictures of Judith as she grew up because I knew how much Lori loved pictures. I guess we found other people to take pictures of as well,” Rick said with a smile. Daryl watched as Michonne reached over and grabbed Rick’s hand. There was so much love in this room that it was beginning to get overwhelming. Evidently, Paul could sense his uneasiness because he cleared his throat.

“How did you get them printed off?” Paul asked with a glance towards the pictures. Rick smiled and Carol laughed. Daryl remembered Deanna videotaping them when they first arrived in Alexandria. He realized that she had to have had some way to get pictures, too.

“Now that we have electricity we can fire up the computer in Deanna’s house and print off pictures. We can’t do much else because everything is so outdated but at least we can get the memories,” Carol said with a smile. Daryl watched as she yawned and stretched. It was getting dark now and Judith was getting irritable. They’d all be leaving soon and they’d have the house to themselves.

“Okay, okay,” Michonne said as she picked up a fussy Judith, “Rick, let’s go and let these guys get settled before it gets too late.”

With that, everyone stood up and walked toward the door. Tara gave them both hugs then walked out the door. Carol kissed his forehead and hugged Paul; Daryl watched as his eyes went wide then he nodded quickly. Carl punched his shoulder and told him to get some sleep. Michonne let Judith down and walked over to give them both hugs. Judith ran over and hugged their legs then said, “Bye Dar! Bye Jee!” as she ran out the door after her brother. Rick walked over and clapped them both on the shoulder and said his goodnights. They watched them disperse to go to their own homes then shut the door quietly.

“I don’t know about you but I am absolutely exhausted and terribly sore from carrying that paint. Which we should probably get out of the car,” Paul said as he opened the door again. Daryl nodded and followed him out to the car. He popped the trunk and grabbed three of the six cans. Paul grabbed the other three then sat one down so he could shut the trunk. They quickly carried the paint back to the house and Daryl sat his three on the floor just inside the door. Paul shut the door with his foot before setting down his cans.

“I’m exhausted, too. We can start painting tomorrow,” Daryl said as he toed off his boots. He watched as Paul did the same then walked over to turn off the light in the living room. Daryl turned and walked up the stairs. He heard a thump and Paul curse behind him. When Daryl made it to the top of the steps, he saw the glow of a light which illuminated some flower petals leading to the right. He chuckled and shook his head. Those crazy motherfuckers. He followed the petals to what he assumed was the master bedroom. He laughed when he walked into the room. There was a heart made out of petals on the bed and a few candles lit around the room.

“They’re ridiculous,” Daryl jumped at the sound of Paul’s voice. He looked over at the man beside him and smiled a mischievous grin. He turned quickly and threw Paul over his shoulder which caused him to shriek. Daryl laughed as he walked toward the bed; when he reached the foot of the bed, he dropped Paul onto it. Paul landed on his back and quickly sat up onto his elbows.

“You said you wanted to see these muscles at work,” Daryl said as he grabbed the hem of his shirt and slowly pulled it off. He heard Paul’s breath hitch and smiled. He slowly unbuckled his belt and pulled it out of his belt loops. He could tell he was getting to Paul now because he was breathing harder than normal. Never mind the fact that he could see the tent appearing in Paul’s pants. He slowly unbuttoned his pants and pushed them down. Paul let out a groan at the sight before him because Daryl was completely naked. He stepped out of his pants and walked around to the left side of the bed. Then he pulled back the covers and flopped down. He pulled the covers up around his shoulders and blew out the candle on the nightstand.

“What the fuck,” Paul said quietly. Daryl laughed then turned to face him. Paul was staring at him with a look of utter disbelief on his face. That only made Daryl laugh harder and reach out to him.

“I told you I’d get you back for earlier in the car,” Daryl said between laughs. He watched Paul stand up and strip his clothes while shaking his head. Daryl was still laughing when Paul finally laid down next to him. Daryl pulled him close and kissed his forehead. After a beat, Paul turned and blew out the candles on his nightstand then turned back to Daryl.

“You are such a dick, Daryl Dixon,” Paul said with a yawn. Paul snuggled closer to Daryl’s chest and tangled his legs with Daryl’s own. Daryl just smiled and hugged him tighter as he kissed the top of the smaller man’s head. He felt himself relax into the bed and slowly started to drift off.

“Night, Paul,” Daryl said quietly. Paul looked up at him and kissed his chin. Daryl tilted his head down and kissed Paul’s lips. Paul sat up to put his hair in a loose bun then laid back down and curled back into Daryl.

“Goodnight, Daryl. Sleep well,” Paul said sleepily and let out a content sigh. It had been a very long day and Daryl was ready for the sweet embrace of sleep. Soon, he heard Paul’s gentle snores which lulled him into a deep, peaceful sleep.

~~  
  
Daryl jerked awake to the sound of running water and someone singing in the next room. He looked over to Paul’s side of the bed and saw nothing but rumpled sheets. Daryl dropped his face onto Paul’s pillow and breathed in the scent of the other man. Daryl loved that Paul always smelt good.

Daryl smiled into the pillow when he remembered that they were going to start painting today. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he was actually excited for the task. He slowly got up out of the bed and walked to the bathroom. He walked in and stepped into the shower behind Paul; who didn't hear him over the sound of himself singing. Daryl smiled mischievously and placed his hands on the other man's hips causing Paul to scream.

“Goddammit, Daryl! Don't do that to me,” Paul said after he realized who was behind him. Daryl leaned down and kissed the shorter man’s shoulder.

“Sorry,” Daryl said as he took the washcloth from the younger man. He rubbed some soap on the washcloth and started scrubbing himself down as Paul stepped out of the shower.

“Are you ready for this fun filled day?” He heard Paul ask over the sound of the running water. Daryl smiled to himself as he rinsed the soap off his body. He grabbed the shampoo and started washing his hair.

“Mhmm,” Daryl hummed in agreement as the soap ran down his face. Daryl didn't waste any time when it came to showering. He was in and out in no time. Paul, on the other hand, took his sweet time.

Daryl stepped out of the shower a short time later and plucked a towel from the counter. Thank god, Michonne and the gang stocked this place with practically everything they could need. Which Daryl soon realized included their clothes from Rick and Michonne’s house where they normally stayed.

“Paul! What're we paintin' first?” Daryl yelled as he walked out of the bathroom.

“First of all, you don't have to yell; I'm right here. Second of all, I figured we could paint our room first. Make it blue,” Paul said from inside the closet where he was putting on clothes. He threw a shirt and jeans to Daryl as he walked out.

“Look who just came out of the closet,” Daryl said with a smirk as he watched Paul put his hair in a bun. Paul rolled his eyes and flipped him off.

“You going to make that joke every time you see me come out of a closet?”

“Probably.”

“Whatever floats your boat.”

“Whatever rows your canoe.”

Paul walked over toward the door and motioned for Daryl to follow. Daryl got up from where he was sitting on their bed and followed him down the hallway.

“We’ll need a ladder and some paint brushes. I'll go get those while you carry the paint upstairs,” Paul said as they walked down the stairs. When they got to the bottom Daryl gave him a salute and bent down to pick up the blue paint. Paul walked out the door as Daryl turned to walk back up the stairs.

He carried the paint into their room and looked around. He noticed that the walls were bare and that he could just shove everything to the center of the room. So, he got to work on that. The floors were wood so if they spilled any or got any drops on the floor, they could just wipe it up with a wet cloth. After he got everything moved, he went in search of an old rag.

Just as he found one in the garage, he heard Paul come back inside with the ladder. He walked back into the house and helped Paul carry the 6-foot ladder up the stairs. Which was harder than it was supposed to be because there was a bend in the stairs. He and Paul bickered for a minute about which way to turn the ladder to get it up the stairs then finally got it up the steps.

“Okay, I'm going to start at the top so that way if any runs down we can paint over it and it won't look bad. Can you open that?” Paul asked as he took the ladder over to the far wall. Daryl popped the lid off the paint with his knife and mixed it with his brush.

He carried it over to where Paul was standing on the ladder; examining where to start. Daryl set the paint on the top step that's made to hold paint. Paul must not have noticed that Daryl set next to his hands because when Paul turned to say something to him, he knocked the paint off the ladder and directly onto Daryl’s shoulder and neck. The paint splashed clear up the side of his face and into his hair.

“Goddammit, Paul. What the fuck?” Daryl said as he wiped the off paint that splattered onto his face. Daryl heard Paul laughing as he tried to wipe the paint off his neck and arms. He dipped his brush into the paint that was pooled on the floor and put a long stripe down Paul's arm.

“Hey! I didn't mean to get spill it on you,” Paul said as he stepped down the ladder. Daryl bent down and put more on his brush. This time he put a small stripe on Paul's cheek with a grin.

He watched as Paul bent down to get paint on his brush. Daryl flicked some paint off his brush at Paul's pristine white shirt. Paul put a long blue stripe down Daryl’s clean arm. Daryl threw his brush down and put his hands in the paint. Then he grabbed Paul's cheeks and pulled him into a kiss. He felt Paul run his wet brush across his forehead.

“Simba,” Paul said with a chuckle as they pulled apart. Daryl laughed and put more paint on his hands. Instead of going after Paul, he just put his blue covered hands on the white wall. The lower half was splattered with blue paint and now there were two perfect handprints about chest height. Paul did the same then took his brush and painted a PR over his own hand prints, so Daryl put a DD over his own.

He watched as Paul painted an anatomically correct heart between the initials. Daryl smiled when he finished a few minutes later and pulled the shorter man into a hug. He kissed the top of Paul’s head and looked at their handiwork on the wall. It looked like shit but it was their house and he didn't care.

“Well, I guess we painted our bedroom,” Daryl said with a smirk. Paul turned to look at the wall and laughed which caused Daryl to laugh. Soon they were both doubled over in laughter and out of breath.

“And there's now going to be a permanent blue spot on the floor,” Paul said between breaths. Daryl looked down at the drying paint on the floor and laughed more. God, what a beautiful disaster.

“Well, let's go shower then put the bedroom back together. You get to scrub my hair, you little shit,” Daryl said with a smile as he walked to the bathroom. Paul laughed as he followed close behind and shut the bathroom door behind them.

 

~~~~~

  
A few months later when they found more paint, they never covered up the splattered wall. They painted the three white walls a forest green but left the fourth wall splattered with blue paint. It may have looked like a terrible mess to anyone else but so was the world they lived in and they decided to leave it just how it was.


End file.
